The nance
By: by Douglas Carter Beane
Publisher: Dramatists Play Service
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 67
ISBN-13: 9780822230779
Subjects: Drama; Burlesque (Theater); Closeted gays; Gay men; Vaudeville; Actors
Description: In the 1930s, burlesque impresarios welcomed the hilarious comics and musical parodies of vaudeville to their decidedly lowbrow niche. A headliner called "the nance"--usually played by a straight man--was a stereotypically camp homosexual and master of comic double entendre. The Nance recreates the naughty, raucous world of burlesque's heyday and tells the backstage story of Chauncey Miles and his fellow performers. At a time when it was easy to play gay and dangerous to be gay, Chauncey's uproarious antics on the stage stand out in marked contrast to his offstage life.
Notes: "Originally produced on Broadway by Lincoln Center Theater at the Lyceum Theater, opening on April 15, 2013"--Page 5.